A year ago, even though he was playing only a little and producing even less, Tim Tebow was all the rage with the Jets. Based on his rabid following, he was perceived to be the most interesting backup quarterback in the world.

Two years ago, he was helping lead the Broncos into the playoffs and upsetting the Steelers in a playoff game. He was one of the darlings of the league, an improbable story, a marketer’s dream.

Today, Tebow is out of football, working out on his own and staring at phones that are not ringing.

The last thing we heard publicly from Tebow came in the form of an Aug. 31 tweet he posted after the Patriots cut him. The tweet, from @TimTebow, read: “I would like to thank Mr. [Robert] Kraft, Coach [Bill] Belichick, [offensive coordinator Josh] McDaniels and the entire Patriots organization for giving me the opportunity … ’’

According to his Twitter account, the tweet was posted at 3:16 p.m. that day (of course it was).

Since then, Tebow has been a quarterback without a team (reports have said not even the Canadian League is interested), and that’s a development that saddens former Jets quarterback Vinny Testaverde, who helped school Tebow on mechanics in the spring.

“He’s as hard a worker as I’ve ever been around,’’ Testaverde told The Post on Friday. “He’s focused, he’s dedicated and he is everything what you want in a player. As far as work ethic and dedication and being a great teammate, he is the poster boy for all that. Unfortunately, he just needs to continue to work on his quarterback skills if he wants to be a quarterback in the NFL.’’

Testaverde said he’s surprised Tebow is not on an NFL roster at all, but he said he does not “know all the dynamics.’’

“I feel bad for him, but I don’t know what he’s told other teams — whether he is saying, ‘I just want to be a quarterback,’ or if he is open to playing other positions,” Testaverde said. “ My feeling on it is, tell anybody and everybody that you’ll do whatever it takes to make the team, whether it’s returning kicks or being a personal protector on the punt team. Then, once you’re there on a team, you can work on your quarterbacking. Get on a team first, learn the offense, do what they ask you, and then whether you stay after practice or sneak into quarterback meeting rooms [is up to you].

“You do what it takes. Unfortunately for him, he’s not on a team, and at this point he just needs to go somewhere and play football and work on his craft.’’

Testaverde, who was recommended to Tebow through mutual acquaintances, helped him with his footwork and reading defenses for a few weeks in the spring.

He, like many, thought the Patriots were the perfect landing spot for Tebow because of Belichick. Testaverde said he thinks if Belichick had not encountered so many question marks on the team because of injury, he “probably would have kept Tim and helped him develop into a nice quarterback.’’

“But Bill lost his tight ends, and [receiver] Wes Welker is not there, so he’s missing some pieces trying to groom new guys, and it’s hard to keep somebody that can’t help you right now on your team,’’ he said. “I think Tim is a victim of that in New England.’’

Rex Ryan, Tebow’s coach with the Jets, who released him in the offseason, said he “thought he’d get picked up’’ after the Patriots cut him.

“As a personal punt protector, what he did for us flew under the radar a bit,’’ Ryan said. “We did fake three or four punts, and we were successful on every one of them. He’s a good football player. Is he a stand back, drop-back, five-to-seven-step guy? No. But he’s got certain skill sets that he can do certain things.’’

Jets guard Willie Colon, who was on the Steelers team Tebow upset in the playoffs two years ago, said, “I think Tebow has to just stop playing quarterback and invest in another position. Be willing to do that.’’

Should an NFL team give Tim Tebow another shot?

Why wouldn't Tebow just accept an offer from the LA Kiss? It seems pretty late for a team to bring in and orient a new quarterback. It seems like he'd be better off playing football somewhere than nowhere

The guy is a winner. If you give him time to develop, he'll be a solid QB. No, he will never be a Manning or Rodgers or Brady; but, he will bring excitement and energy. It's simply unfair that terrible QBs like Gabbert and Freeman get years to prove their worth, while Tebow hasn't even been given a full season.

its obvious that the Jesus-God doesn't want him to win football games anymore. The Jesus-God has moved on to other players and other teams. I'm quite sure Mr. Tebow understands all of this is the Jesus-God's ultimate plan.

Lets be honest here . hes not NFL qb material and neither are alot of QBs who atleast got a chance. After The broncos got Luck which anyone would take over Tebow it's been down hill. It is as if nobody want's to see him succeed in any shape or form so they can say told you so. Nobody want's him to succeed so he ultimately won't.

It's unfortunate, but Tim Tebow's Career as a football player is over. He needs to realize that no NFL Team wants him at all, the NFL has black listed Tim Tebow because everyone is saying that he can't make it in the NFL as a quarterback, and that he needs to change to another position or his football career is definitely over. The only team that has presented Tim Tebow with a real good offer are the new owners of the LA KISS in the arena football league, and I think that he really needs to accept this offer, because if he holds out for a NFL Team to play quarterback for, is just not going to happen for him. Tim take the offer from the Owners of the LA KISS and play in the Arena Football League and have some real fun with it..

There are a lot of quarterbacks with far less skill and ability than Tebow on NFL rosters. I think the word came down from Goodell to blacklist Tebow. Too much hatred from the likes of ESPN and SI. Not good for the image of the game when sportswriters - like the writer of this column - mock and hate Tebow. That's why he's out of the game. .

You really stink Cannizaro --- let's see the only quotes you got was from Vinny Testaverde ? (yeah he was real success), Rex Ryan (who may surprise everyone by actually hanging onto his head coaching job even though he isn't one) and Willy Colon? Maybe Cannizaro needs to go back and work on his craft....this isn't a story -- its just some lazy "reporter" yawning up a piece of dreck and trying to piggyback on TT's integrity ad popularity. .

He won a division and he won a playoff game. How many other QB's in the league now have done that? The Jets did not know how to utilize him. He was a winner in Pee Wee, he was a winner in High school and he was a Heisman winner in college. When the NFL gets involved he is no longer a winner.? Really

Tebow has very bad management and agents. He passed on the Jags for the Jets. That was the death of his career.

Whatever Tebow could do, its been almost 2 years since he started a game. If he really, truly wanted to play he wouldve signed with the Arena League or CFL earlier this year.

If he wants to play he needs to think outside of the NFL. If he had confidence he would be positive he could cut it and make it back. But he knows deep down he just doesnt have it anymore. He should just retire and move on.

Know who holds the "BCS bowl game record" for most passing yards in ANY single bowl game? Who threw for 482 yards (while rushing for 51) on 31 completions of 35 attempts in that bowl game against a Top 20 team?

Yes, his completion percentage was 46.5% in 2011 at Denver, but Denver used the run-option for short yardage INSTEAD of screen passes (which- being "easy to complete"- usually boost a QB's completion percentage by 5-7% if he gets to throw 7 or 8 of 'em a game). So, his completion percentage at Denver in 2011 was 46.5 % DESPITE not being called on to throw screen passes. Guess what Terry Bradshaw's first-year completion percentage was- 38% !!!! TEBOW CAN PASS (AND RUN) !!!

@Ron Schwalbe They're not wrong, per se, but obviously they are making a mistake by
not giving him a chance. BTW, are they right when they keep players
like Gabbert, Henne, and Freeman on rosters? What have these three QBs
ever done, besides lose? You cannot deny that Tebow wins -- he has an
uncanny ability to lead and finds ways to win games

he had a couple of alarmingly bad performances in pre-season games. that's why the patriots gave up on him. we're talking wildly errant passes. his accuracy got worse, not better. he was good in denver, but he should have improved not gotten worse. maybe it's only in real games that he plays well!

@sdkf7l This is what we call someone who speaks without knowledge. He was 6/11 in his last pre-season game and threw 2 TDs. The guy has played very little the past year -- he did fine in his last game, playing with 2nd stringers (did you notice the number of bad snaps he had to handle?).

@Pepperoni92 I DON'T WATCH FOOTBALL,BUT WAS JUST WONDERING WHAT HAPPENED TO TEBOW. I ENJOYED SEEING A GREAT YOUNG MAN WITH HIS BELIEFS IN THE GAME. I'M VERY SURE HE KNOWS WHAT HE'S DOING. PEOPLE SEEM TO ALWAYS SEE THE BAD AND FORGET THE GOOD HE BROUGHT TO THE GAME. GOD BLESS AND THE BEST TO TEBOW.

@Anthony J Petroff Did you read the article? Just commenting without thinking, I see. The Pats had injury issues and couldn't waste a roster spot on a 3rd QB. Now that Wilfork is down, and Gronk hasn't played yet, we can see that Belichick made the right choice by cutting him.